Bright Knight of the City

 

The lesser-spotted blog post...

The string of summer signings has inspired the first post in a year, with a focus on new £2m(ish) signing, Jason Knight.

He has been likened by some to Korey Smith, his former team-mate at Pride Park, whilst his high-energy approach has been praised widely. To get the real lowdown I spoke to avid Rams fan, Cory Hancock, of top Derby pod Ram's Review.

                                         Picture from Bristol City www.bcfc.co.uk 

Tell us about Jason Knight. What type of player are we getting?

An energy player who will run all game long. Knight’s engine is second-to-none. He will run hard for the team and do the work of two players. That’s not to say he runs around like a headless chicken, but he will go box-to-box for 90 minutes. He’s also a solid and consistent performer who rarely lets the side down.

He’s played a few different positions, I think most expect him to be straying centrally for us as one of two holding midfielders. Would that be his best fit?

I would expect him to stay centrally. We were forced to play him at right back and as a right midfielder, but Knight’s best position in central midfield. His work rate is incredible and the best place for that is in midfield. Watch out for some late runs into the box too, he did that to great effect a few times for us.

Last season he was named in Not The Top 20’s 21 players under 21 to watch (alongside Alex Scott, Tommy Conway and Anis Mehmeti). Would Derby fans have agreed he’s in that bracket of quality?

I think so. Knight is a quality young player and will only get better. Are there a few things in his game he can improve on? Yes, but that can be said about any young player. He’s consistent and reliable throughout his time here and you can see there is more to come from him as well.

His lack of goal contributions has been highlighted by some as a concern. Is that something we should worry about, or just accept that the position he’s playing, he’s doing other jobs for us?

It’s easy to say Knight needs to add more goals to his game. However, I think it’s important to note a few things about his lack of goals so far. Our last two seasons in the Championship (2020/21 and 2021/22) we struggled for creativity and goal threat. It was difficult for anyone in that team to score in bunches, he was deployed also as a right midfielder, so he wasn’t getting into the box as much. 

Secondly, last season he was deployed for part of the season at right back and when he was in midfield he wasn’t utilized in a creative role. When he is in central midfield, he can score a few. Of course, I think he needs to add more to his game to continue his development and take his game to the next level. Goalscoring aside, Jason Knight was a solid and consistent performer for us during his time here, he never let the side down, he worked hard and continued to get better.

What sort of guy is he? Will he get a good reception when he one day returns to Pride Park?

He’s a good guy from all reports. He stuck with us over the past couple of difficult (to say the least) season, when he could have probably walked out on us (like some players did). He always gave his all and was a consistent performer over the past several years. There are no hard feelings on this transfer. It’s best for all parties Derby get some cash they need for the rebuild, Knight gets to go back to the Championship and Bristol City get a very good young player. All the best in the future Knighty!

Anything else you can add, anything else we need to know?

Former Derby County manager Wayne Rooney once tackled Knighty in training at the beginning of the 2021/2022 season. The tackle put Jason out for a few weeks!

Apart from that Rooney tackle, he sounds ideal! Most fans would agree that a defensive central midfielder - a screener and terrier rolled into one perhaps - is exactly what we needed. Knight's pedigree suggests he is up to the task at this level and will compliment the likes of Matty James, Kal Naismith and maybe even Alex Scott very nicely indeed. There may be a question mark over Joe Williams with this signing, but after two years of injury issues and maybe a touch of concern over his ability to be quite the player we signed, Williams may be the one most affected by Knight's arrival.

To be signing a player with 150 games under his belt at such a young age, with growth for potential is exciting and exactly where the club should be focusing their efforts.